Item: Google Hangouts (Classic)
Rating: 8
Author: Jason Kelly

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Google Hangouts is used as a communications platform across all departments of the organization. It allows users to chat with one another, make audio and video calls, and even host webinars. It is integrated with the organization's Google Suite account and all users within the company are given access to these features.

Pros and Cons

Ease of use -- all features are user-friendly, even for non-technical employees
Integration -- Hangouts integrates seamlessly with all other Google products
Improvements -- as a Google product, the software is continuously updating and improving

Video quality -- the video quality is not as high as some comparable products
Support -- nearly all support is handled through documentation and forums

Return on Investment

Positive -- Google's nonprofit discounts are very generous
Positive -- Improved collaboration among teams
Positive -- Remote workers have increased access to their coworkers

Alternatives Considered

Zoom

Google Hangouts provides much better chat and messaging features than Zoom. It also provides better user management and is overall more cost effective. Zoom provides better video quality and conferencing, with the ability to schedule calls ahead of time, record in the cloud, and seamlessly share screens. I would recommend Google Hangouts for inter-office communication and Zoom for more far-reaching needs.

Support Rating

As a Google product, the support for Hangouts is of high quality, but limited mostly to documents and forums. Google does not provide an account representative or a help desk to troubleshoot problems, but you should be able to find support from a number of different forums and websites. Google also provides thorough and up-to-date documentation.

Key Insights

Do you think Google Hangouts (Classic) delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Google Hangouts (Classic)'s feature set?

Yes

Did Google Hangouts (Classic) live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Google Hangouts (Classic) go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Google Hangouts (Classic) again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Zoom, RealZips GeoData Platform for Salesforce.com, Constant Contact

Likelihood to Recommend

Google Hangouts is well suited for companies of a small to medium size to handle inter-office communication and discussion. It is easy and fun to chat with coworkers throughout the day and create groups to discuss projects as a team. The audio, video, and recording features allow remote employees to participate, as well.

Google Hangouts is a great product for inter-office communication (and fun!)

Overall Satisfaction with Google Hangouts